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Spending another morning in Fiji sent chills down Bryce’s entire body. He was excited to keep talking with the striking girls in the villa, though it scared him to get rejected again. Trinity was one of the prettiest girls Bryce had seen but she was far too young for their relationship to go smoothly, and Kayda seemed to really like Zach.
The entire getaway with the bombshell had Bryce’s heart jumping. Getting in bed with a hot girl was in everyone’s best interest, even though there was another person who interrupted their bond. Bryce wasn’t letting it get to him. Once they returned to the villa and Kayda chose to couple up with Zach, he knew it would cause turmoil between them. He had to get things off his chest somehow.
“I like Zach. He’s one of my favorite guys I’ve met here. I don’t want our with anyone to ruin a solid friendship.” he told Sincere, reminiscing on his time with the two. He kept remembering the major third-wheeling going on, telling Sincere all about it as he shyly looked to the yoga mats on the ground below them. Sincere read Bryce’s expression and tried his best to calm the embarrassment.
“We’re all gonna have moments like that, not being the first option.” Sincere reminded him. “There’s plenty of time to find someone else, especially since you’re still coupled up with Trinity.” Bryce knew that, though. He knew he wasn’t vulnerable, and he was still bound to Trinity. So he wasn’t so sure what was causing a shadow of worry to cast over him.
“Thanks, man. I just needed to talk to someone. I guess my expectations for the show were a little different.” Bryce explained. He got up and looked for a certain someone else to chat with, seeking more clarity.
He just couldn’t get one thing off his mind: When he was in that bed with Zach and Kayda. The sound of them kissing made him embarrassingly desperate for love. He wanted to feel the touch of someone else like he never had before. Recalling his pleads to join in on their kissing, he jumped onto the nearest couch and buried his face in a pink pillow. He heard flip flops clacking towards him and knew he would have to show his face, now flushed, to whoever he was approaching.
“Dude are you good?” A voice inquired.
“KC?” Bryce replied, not answering his question partly on purpose.
“Yeah it’s me, you good bro?” KC insisted on getting an answer.
Bryce finally gave up, “I’m okay, things are just weird right now, so..” he refused to tell more than he had to, avoiding what was really on his mind. Once he felt less hot, he fixed hair and faced KC. “Uh.. have you seen Zach?” KC thought for a moment.
“Zach?” he chuckled. “Last I saw he pulled Kayda for a private chat. They’re definitely getting.. you know.. crazy.” Bryce laughed like normal trying to seem casual about it.
At night, Bryce tucked himself in bed with Trinity. They both telepathically agreed to not be so touchy. Bryce just wanted to relax for once and reconsider it all, while Trinity had her eyes on other guys in the villa. As he stared at the darkness of the roof in a pitch black room, he thought to himself again. Zach and Kayda making out. Being able to watch it more than once, wanting to be apart of it. Two nights ago, that daunting moment, he just wanted to get in between them.
“Wait..” he thought, stopping himself in his tracks. Realizing the scenario he was thinking of included him next to Zach. Touching him. He tried to ignore it and kept closing his eyes to sleep but it kept coming back to him.
Bryce woke up for a new day, greeted by Trinity.
“Come on, let’s get ready, I think there’s a challenge today!”. Although they weren’t couple material yet, he still liked chatting with her and enjoyed her company. Bryce complied and got up to start a new day, hopefully forgetting all that disturbed his mind.
While brushing his teeth, Bryce could see Zach from the corner of his eye, trying to look at him too. He really wanted to talk to Zach and clear everything up so it could all be normal again, even though the whole dilemma was all in his mind. Zach walked behind him and Bryce tried not to make it obvious he saw his friend in the mirror.
“Oh, hey!” Bryce laughed in half-surprise when Zach grabbed his bare shoulders.
“You and Trinity got along well last night?” Zach teased him with a grin.
“Uhh.. sure you could say that” They both laughed. “Uhm actually, I wan-“ Bryce’s attempt to open up was interrupted by a sudden shout from the other guys. He gave up mid sentence knowing how loud and excited the guys were for the day, and while Zach laughed along, he quickly directed his attention back to Bryce, who had a defeated look on his face.
“What was it?” Zach asked, now looking directly at Bryce instead of making eye contact through the mirror.
“Oh it’s nothing, let’s go make breakfast for the girls right?” Bryce turned his head up at Zach.
“Alright let’s go.”
At the villa’s communal kitchen, Bryce made Trinity a light meal and was cooking up a sympathy plate for Kenzie, who had nobody else making her breakfast. He glanced over at Zach kissing Kayda as he presented his heartfelt breakfast to her and quickly looked away. The way Zach was looking at her annoyed Bryce a bit. He just looked away and kept focusing on the bacon that was sizzling loud enough to block out their kissing noises. But in his view, he’s saw an arm handing him a plate with breakfast on it.
“Here, I’m not hungry.” Zach’s voice said.
“Oh uh, thanks man I was gonna be here cooking forever.” Bryce thanked his friend, followed by a chuckle. He handed Kenzie her plate and sat with her and Trinity, who had front-row seating to all the guys making breakfast for their couples. He was slightly hoping Zach would ask to sit together, but all they did was glance at eachother, clearly wishing they had.